Miss-Delectable
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IDAHO: Sonny Claus: Signing Santa (2010-12-16)
Taking your child to see Santa is easy, there's a big jolly elf in every Mall. But if your child is deaf, suddenly it's not so simple. Where do you find a Santa who can speak sign language? Boise State Public Radio's Samantha Wright reports.
Remember the movie Miracle on 34th Street? The original version, produced in 1947, starred Natalie Wood as Susan Walker, the little girl who doesn't believe in Santa Claus. But that dis-belief is shaken when she over hears this exchange between Santa and a little Dutch girl.
"Well young lady, what's your name? I'm sorry she doesn't speak English, she's Dutch, she just came over. I told you wouldn't be able to speak to her, but when she saw you in the parade yesterday, she said you were Santa Claus and you could talk to her. Hello (says Santa) [speaking Dutch ]"
In an ideal world, Santa would be able to communicate with every child, regardless of their native language, or even if they were deaf. In the real world, how do deaf children give Santa their Christmas list? Well, if your Santa is Sonny Cabbage, that's not a problem.
"I really enjoy it, it's a lot of fun."
Sonny Cabbage, better known as Sonny Claus, is being interpreted by June Flannery. Sonny grew up in a deaf family.
"My parents are deaf, my brother's deaf, and I went to the school for the deaf in Gooding Idaho. A good family friend worked with my mother and they asked me if I would mind playing Santa, being a deaf Santa for the deaf children in the area."
That was 16 years ago. Since then, during the holidays, Sonny has been moonlighting from his job as a biologist at Idaho Power. During the holidays, he becomes Sonny Claus.
"As a kid, we'd go to sears, in the Mall and we'd see Santa and he's always have a candy cane for everybody and we wait in line and wait in line and wait in line and basically I'd just nod my head a lot because we couldn't understand each other and then he'd give me my candy cane and then I'd leave. So I had that memory and when I had the opportunity to be Santa Claus for the deaf children in the area, I thought that would be a lot of fun for the deaf kids, to be able to communicate with Santa. Really, they become more involved in the Christmas spirit, with the Christmas tradition."
Sonny Claus says deaf children are just like hearing kids, some are shy, some cry, some are excited. But many of them take away a happy memory of their time on Santa's lap.
"Some of the kids, when they grow up, they remember me, they remember sitting on my lap as I played Santa, so it's kind of fun when they grow up and they have that as part of their memory."
Sonny will be playing Santa this morning (Thursday, December 16) from 9 to 10am at the Boise Towne Square Mall.
Taking your child to see Santa is easy, there's a big jolly elf in every Mall. But if your child is deaf, suddenly it's not so simple. Where do you find a Santa who can speak sign language? Boise State Public Radio's Samantha Wright reports.
Remember the movie Miracle on 34th Street? The original version, produced in 1947, starred Natalie Wood as Susan Walker, the little girl who doesn't believe in Santa Claus. But that dis-belief is shaken when she over hears this exchange between Santa and a little Dutch girl.
"Well young lady, what's your name? I'm sorry she doesn't speak English, she's Dutch, she just came over. I told you wouldn't be able to speak to her, but when she saw you in the parade yesterday, she said you were Santa Claus and you could talk to her. Hello (says Santa) [speaking Dutch ]"
In an ideal world, Santa would be able to communicate with every child, regardless of their native language, or even if they were deaf. In the real world, how do deaf children give Santa their Christmas list? Well, if your Santa is Sonny Cabbage, that's not a problem.
"I really enjoy it, it's a lot of fun."
Sonny Cabbage, better known as Sonny Claus, is being interpreted by June Flannery. Sonny grew up in a deaf family.
"My parents are deaf, my brother's deaf, and I went to the school for the deaf in Gooding Idaho. A good family friend worked with my mother and they asked me if I would mind playing Santa, being a deaf Santa for the deaf children in the area."
That was 16 years ago. Since then, during the holidays, Sonny has been moonlighting from his job as a biologist at Idaho Power. During the holidays, he becomes Sonny Claus.
"As a kid, we'd go to sears, in the Mall and we'd see Santa and he's always have a candy cane for everybody and we wait in line and wait in line and wait in line and basically I'd just nod my head a lot because we couldn't understand each other and then he'd give me my candy cane and then I'd leave. So I had that memory and when I had the opportunity to be Santa Claus for the deaf children in the area, I thought that would be a lot of fun for the deaf kids, to be able to communicate with Santa. Really, they become more involved in the Christmas spirit, with the Christmas tradition."
Sonny Claus says deaf children are just like hearing kids, some are shy, some cry, some are excited. But many of them take away a happy memory of their time on Santa's lap.
"Some of the kids, when they grow up, they remember me, they remember sitting on my lap as I played Santa, so it's kind of fun when they grow up and they have that as part of their memory."
Sonny will be playing Santa this morning (Thursday, December 16) from 9 to 10am at the Boise Towne Square Mall.
